The Seer and the Scholar by Rosanne Higgins

Author:Rosanne Higgins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: disability, nineteenth century, cholera, deaf history, buffalo new york, lilydale, poorhouse, orphans and inmates, paranormal medium, women physicians
Publisher: Rosanne Higgins

Chapter Fifteen

Dr. Michael Nolan

Niagara Street

Buffalo, New York

12 September, 1849

Dear Dr. Nolan,

Having received your correspondence regarding the orphaned child Felicity Taylor, I am pleased to offer you some guidance. As it is the general consensus among educators of the deaf that a satisfactory result cannot be achieved until the twelfth year, it is my recommendation that, when ready, the girl attend common school until such time as she reaches the appropriate age. There, under the guidance of a kind and gentle teacher, she can be educated in the elementary branches of knowledge as well as the fundamental principles of morals. An industrious teacher will soon develop an intuitive sign language with which to impart this critical foundation. Should you be fortunate enough to find the child’s family in Batavia, and if they are willing to take her in, kindly inform them that, upon her twelfth year, there will be a place for Felicity here, where her physical, mechanical, intellectual, moral and religious education will continue. Until then may God bless you for your kindness and charity.

Your Most Humble Servant,

Mother Agnes Spencer

St. Joseph School for the Deaf

St. Louis, Missouri

Michael looked up from the letter he was reading as his weary brother-in-law appeared in the doorway. “Rolland, come in and take a seat. Ye look as if a light wind would knock ye over.”

“Aye, well, ye did warn me there’d be no sleep to be had once the babe arrived.”

“I daresay, we’ve not slept the night through since the blessed arrival of my firstborn. There’s always a sniffle or a bad dream keepin’ the lads awake. Daniel only just started to use the pot by himself at night.”

“My Da used to say ‘Ye can sleep when yer dead!’ I expect he’ll remind me of that when he meets his wee granddaughter.” Rolland took the seat in front of the desk, grateful for the gentle breeze coming through the open window behind him. “Martha said ye wanted a word.”

“Aye, I should like yer opinion. I’ve received word from Mother Spencer at St. Joseph’s in Missouri. She tells me that they do not accept children for instruction until the age of twelve.”

“Is that so? And what is the child to do until then?” Rolland asked.

“She recommends that Felicity attend common school. It is on that recommendation that I would like yer opinion. Can she learn in a classroom with hearing children?”

Rolland adjusted himself more comfortably in the chair and considered the question. “I recall some years back when I was living in Albany, Mr. Harvey Peet, principal of the New York Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, was touring the state with some of his students so that folks would know about the school and what it offered children who couldn’t hear. Anyway, I was interested in the methods they used for instruction of the deaf, so I spoke to Mr. Peet for quite a while. He told me that it was important for parents to develop a way early on of communicating with their young children with the use of gestures and pantomime.

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